


In My Mind, Endless Seas

by Sam_Nook



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Flashback, Scuba Diving, Shipwreck, Talks of past death, Water, england is mentioned - Freeform, histober2020, inktober but it's writing, inktober2020, not a fan of this story but oh well, prompt was sea exploration, talks of drowning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-02
Updated: 2020-10-02
Packaged: 2021-03-07 21:34:03
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,035
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26784475
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sam_Nook/pseuds/Sam_Nook
Summary: Alfred shuffled through the murky water towards his destination. There, buried under mounds of seaweed, laid the rubble of a long-forgotten ship. It had laid there for centuries, untouched by humans until Alfred stumbled back onto it. It felt surreal. The last time he had been a mere child, struggling to keep himself and another above the rough waves. It was undoubtedly a sight he would never forget.
Comments: 3
Kudos: 7





	In My Mind, Endless Seas

**Author's Note:**

> Histober/Inktober 2020 Day Two: Sea Exploration
> 
> I really struggled with this one, so I know it's not my best work; I apologize. The title is taken from the song Diving Bell by Starset.

_Breathe, just breathe._

Alfred couldn't breathe. He couldn't see either, except for the inky blackness of the ocean surrounding him. It terrified him. He struggled to push towards the surface despite being hundreds of feet underneath the ocean's surface. He couldn't escape it. 

"Alfred, calm down." A voice crackled through his headgear. The voice was vaguely familiar, and distantly Alfred could remember Gabriel, the man assigned to be his partner on this mission. "You need to calm down, or we'll have to retrieve you. We need you to find these artifacts. Your the only one who can find them."

He was right; Alfred needed to relax. It was just water, after all. 

_In and out, buddy. You got this. You've done crazier shit than this._

Alfred opened his eyes; in front of him, the darkness pressed inwards. His hands shook in the inky darkness as he swam down. He had a task to do; he would be fine until then. 

_Just breathe and get it done._

"How are you feeling? You were panicking up a storm, you know?"

"I don't like the ocean. It brings up bad memories." Alfred tensely explained. His feet landed on the ocean floor, and he exhaled. "And when you're someone like me, you have a lot of bad memories."

"I keep forgetting you're not some nineteen-year-old kid. You're the same age as my little brother, you know. I would kill him if he were done there doing what you were doing." Gabriel's voice ana mundane talking seemed to calm Alfred's racing mind. It gave him something to focus on besides the watery cage he was metaphorically trapped in. 

"Well, you'll have a hard time killing me. Trust me; it's been done before." Alfred cracked a grin.

"You're impossible, Alfred." Alfred could almost hear the awe in Gabriel's voice.

Alfred shuffled through the murky water towards his destination. There, buried under mounds of seaweed, laid the rubble of a long-forgotten ship. It had laid there for centuries, untouched by humans until Alfred stumbled back onto it. It felt surreal. The last time he had been a mere child, struggling to keep himself and another above the rough waves. It was undoubtedly a sight he would never forget. 

"Hey, Gabe, I made it," Alfred whispered into the microphone, reaching out to gently trace the broken anchor that laid at his feet. 

He ignored Gabriel's response, too busy treading between broken parts of the hull and masts. The ship's paint was chipped and peeled, but Alfred could faintly see the red color that it had once been. 

Something underneath Alfred's foot cracked. He kneeled and picked it up; it was a small wooden mirror. Barnacles covered the painting on the back, but Alfred could see the signed name in the corner. It was Arthur's mirror. He flipped it over and stared into the cracked glass. 

The helmet hid Alfred's reflection, but he could almost see the image of a young boy with sky-blue eyes staring back at him. Alfred dropped the mirror in surprise and watched it fall to the sandy floor as he did nearly three hundred years prior. 

_Alfred never liked being on a boat. He could remember his mother sail away on a canoe, leaving Alfred because it was time for him to join his people. Alfred didn't trust them; his mother had taught him that. Later, he watched England leave on a ship as he traveled the globe, tending to all his duties. It seemed that boats took everyone he loved away._

_Arthur didn't let Alfred convince him to stay. London wasn't that important, right? Arthur only scolded him. He was a young man; now, he was too old to throw tantrums. Alfred had hated every minute about the boat, especially when the storm had started._

_Looking back, Alfred couldn't remember much about the storm. Arthur herded him into his cabin, and sternly told Alfred to stay there until Arthur came for him. Arthur never came for him, and when the mast crashed through the wood, Alfred had fled. He struggled through the water crashing onto the deck and watched as the ship struggled to stay together._

_England's best ship, Alfred bitterly mused._

_He had clutched at the mirror Arthur had given him as a gift in London after his meeting with the Royal Court, until he saw Arthur floating in the rough waves. He didn't hesitate; he jumped in and swam for his guardian._

_The water dragged him under, but he managed to grab weakly at Arthur's red coat and shove his head above water. When Arthur didn't move, perhaps due to the large cut on his forehead, he began to panic. It was a struggle to keep them both above water, and the mirror slipped out of his hands. He watched it float away before he sank below the waves._

_Alfred only awoke days later, cold and terrified. Arthur was alive then, alive and warm, and he had allowed Alfred to cling to him and sob. Later, Arthur explained he had experienced his first death._

Alfred made up his mind then with the water seemingly suffocating him. He couldn't do this, not now, and probably not in a hundred years. He began to panic again, images of the waves swallowing him up and filling his lungs with ice-cold water. His helmet seemed to crack, and Alfred could imagine it filling with water.

"Gabe, Gabe. I can't do this." Alfred's voice was a quiet whimper. 

Alfred closed his eyes, listening to Gabe talk him through the wait. They had sent someone down to get him; all he had to do was stay there and wait. The iciness from the water seemed to chill him even through his suit. 

Warm hands circled his waist before someone pulled him back to the surface. He gripped the edge of the boat, denting it in his panic, and stared up at the sky. 

He was safe now; there was no storm or rough waves. It was sunny and bright, and the water only lapped at him. A hand grabbed his own, and Gabriel beamed down at him.

"You did great, Alfred. They'll take it from here. Let's get you warmed up, alright?"


End file.
